Tri-Lakes region saw snow on Christmas day: Some dreamt of a white Christmas, woke up to one

Weather predictions were right and some parts of the Pikes Peak region saw a white Christmas.

A winter storm carrying pacific moisture hit the mountains and the Front Range and brought anywhere from two to four inches to the Tri-Lakes area. Monument received about 2.8 inches of snow while east of Monument saw 3.4 inches.

The Colorado Department of Transportation and El Paso County were ready for the storm with CDOT having 30-35 snow plows working roads beginning at 6 p.m. Christmas Eve in El Paso and Teller counties and in some sections of Douglas County. El Paso County had 35 trucks out.

Snow began falling Christmas Eve and a majority of the snow fell overnight. According to Rachel Plath, meteorologist with KRDO News 13, a lot of people have different definitions of a white Christmas but the National Weather Service defines a white Christmas as having at least one inch of the snow on the ground by midnight Christmas Eve and there has to be another half-inch falling from midnight to midnight on Dec. 25.

“That would constitute it as a white Christmas. And even though some places woke up to a dusting of snow that's not technically a white Christmas. But Monument is one of those areas that did qualify for the scientific definition of having a white Christmas,” Plath said.

Colorado Springs and much of the Pikes Peak region have not seen a white Christmas since 1987. There are no records for the Tri-Lakes area.

Plath said the same storm that hit Colorado was responsible for the severe weather that occurred from Louisiana to Georgia. According to the Weather Channel at least 34 tornadoes hit the Southern states and at least nine inches of snow fell in Little Rock. The Midwest saw blizzard conditions and up to a foot was expected in parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The storm is known as Winter Storm Euclid as winter storms are now being named as hurricanes are.

The Tri-Lakes region woke up to fog and frozen trees the day after Christmas.